Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Vaccine Distribution Efforts Kick Up A Gear, But Some States Falter
USA Today: COVID-19 Vaccine Now Available At Over 600 In-Store CVS Locations At Select Target Stores Across 17 States
The COVID-19 vaccine is now available in more than 600 CVS in-store pharmacies at Target stores across 17 states. Target announced the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines Wednesday, saying it would also make its fitting rooms at select stores available to CVS for appointments, which are booked through the drug store chain. The retailer closed fitting rooms in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. (Tyko, 3/10)
Boston Globe: Massachusetts Unveils Vaccine Preregistration System To Ease Appointment Frenzy
Governor Charlie Baker on Wednesday unveiled a new online preregistration tool to make it easier to book an appointment at seven mass vaccination sites, a bid to ease the mounting frustration over the frenzied competition to secure a COVID-19 shot. The new system, which will go into effect Friday, could solve what has become the most glaring problem in the state’s vaccine rollout: a vexing online user experience that has forced thousands to compete for a limited number of appointments. Going forward, users will be able to go online and enter their information, and later be alerted when it is their turn to book a vaccination. (Vaccaro and Andersen, 3/10)
The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Has Spent Millions On Emergency Contracts To Improve COVID Vaccine Rollout, But Few Details Made Public
Maryland health officials have signed at least two emergency contracts to improve the state’s rollout of COVID-19 vaccine, committing taxpayers to spending tens of millions of dollars while providing few public details of how the money would be spent. (Cohn and Miller, 3/10)
In other news about distribution of the vaccine —
NPR: Alabama Official On Vaccine Rollout: 'How Can This Disparity Exist In This Country?'
In Birmingham, Ala., Alabama Regional Medical Services — a health clinic that primarily serves a lower-income, Black neighborhood — has not received a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and news reports say it will have to wait until March 13 for its first shipment. Meanwhile, the first doses in the state went to nearby Mountain Brook, an affluent white suburb of Birmingham, says Sheila Tyson, a local official, and the community continues to have ample supply of vaccines. What's happening in Alabama's vaccine rollout is playing out across the country and is another way racial disparities have surfaced during a pandemic that has been killing people of color at disproportionately high rates. (Shapiro, 3/10)
Bay Area News Group: Tensions Mount Over California's Vaccine Distribution Plan
The battle over who distributes California’s coronavirus vaccine grew even more tense Wednesday when the state insisted health insurer Blue Shield will play a significant role in determining how vaccines would be allocated in communities around the state, regardless of local objections. A spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health said Wednesday that counties would not retain control over how vaccines are distributed within their borders under the state’s new, centralized vaccination system. Instead, the spokesman said, the state would determine which hospitals, clinics and other groups get vaccine supply, relying on recommendations from Blue Shield. That declaration infuriated Santa Clara County officials, who have balked at Blue Shield’s new role in distributing vaccines and earlier in the day believed the state was backing away from forcing counties to sign vaccine contracts with Blue Shield. (Kelliher and DeRuy, 3/10)
Capital & Main: Vaccine Distribution Key Element In Gov. Newsom’s Plan To Reopen Schools
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest attempt to change the conversation around classroom reopenings, a bill passed by the state Legislature last week, is a classic carrot-and-stick approach to the state’s 1,037 school districts. It dangles the prospect of state cash before those districts that can manage to get schools opened by April 1 — but for those that cannot, the financial incentive is reduced by 1% a day, every day, through mid-May. It’s an approach that essentially penalizes some districts for needing more time to be sure they reopen safely. Beyond that, though, the bill, which passed with bipartisan support, appears to place the emphasis on the money. In so doing, it distracts from a far more important announcement that came from Newsom’s office last week — more important, that is, if it’s fully realized. (Kreidler, 3/10)
Axios: Native American Vaccination Efforts Exceed Plans, Now Helping Others
Native American tribes are pulling off many of the most successful coronavirus vaccination campaigns in the U.S., bucking stereotypes about tribal governments. Despite severe technological barriers, some tribes are vaccinating their members so efficiently, and at such high rates, that they've been able to branch out and offer coronavirus vaccines to people outside of their tribes. (Chen and Contreras, 3/11)
